Prior hood latches of which I am aware, are generally illustrated by the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Issue Date ______________________________________ 1,382,322 June 21, 1921 1,400,953 Dec. 20, 1921 1,456,396 May 22, 1923 1,570,621 Jan. 26, 1926 3,618,995 Nov. 9, 1971 3,628,817 Dec. 21, 1971 3,985,380 Oct. 12, 1976 ______________________________________
The most typical prior hood latch constructions would appear to be that disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,400,953; 1,456,396 and 1,570,621, wherein an operating handle is connected by a hinge pin to a spring biased yoke and has one of its ends shaped to define a pivot member sized for receipt within a recess defined by a keeper. Upon placement of the pivot member of the handle in the keeper recess, the handle may be swung over-center into a latched position maintained by the spring bias supplied to the yoke.
A decided disadvantage of the above described hood latch construction is that relative movement between a latched hood or closure panel and vehicle body structure could result in sufficient release or reduction of spring tension, as would result in unintended unlatching of the hood. As a result, it has been common practice to provide hood latches of the above described type with relatively high spring tension operating forces, which is disadvantageous from the standpoint of the degree of operator's strength required to operate the latch.
More recently, attempts have been made to devise hood latches having auxiliary latching arrangements intended to prevent unintended unlatching of the hood, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,618,995; 3,628,817 and 3,985,380. However, the auxiliary latching devices contemplated by these patents are believed to unduly complicate their construction.